Electrically-operated gun control.



J. B. RYAN.

ELEOTRIOALLY OPERATED GUN CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, 190B.

Patented Dec. 15,1908.

3 BHBET8-SHEET 1.

mi m w w 3 .3 a fin 0 $6 QQ ,4 TTbR/VE rs J. B. RYAN. ELECTRIGALLY OPERATED GUN CONTROL. APPLICATION FILED rnB.a. 190a.

906,939. Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

8 SHEETS-SH12BT 2 is Q N 1- I N 11/ W/TNESSES INVENTOH l amea'fiazarzifiyzzxp W ATTORNEYS- J. B. RYAN.

ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATED GUN CONTROL.

AYPLIUATION FILED PEB.3, 1908.

906,939. Patented Dec. 15, 1908 3 SHBETBSHEET 3,

WITNESSES INVENTOR .JmerflaZanlfiyaza m By ra A'TTOBNEYS the gun and the motor UNITED srair ss rurrnnr OFFICE.

JAMES BOLAND' RYAN, OF IIOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STEPHEN A. FARRELL,

. OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED GUN CONTROL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1905.

Application filed February 3, 19Q8. Serial No. 41,018.

| pendulum and contact mechanism for con- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BOLAND RYAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Electrically0pcrated Gun Control, of which the-following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to gunnery, my more particular ob'ect being to provide means for readil enabling a heavy un to be maintaine as nearly as practica le in proper position to fire at a target, notwithstanding motions of a vessel upon which the piece may be mounted.

My invention further relates to means whereby the size of the danger zone is greatly lessened, and the. chances of striking thetarget correspondingly increased in instances where it is impracticable to lreep the piece trained at all moments upon the tar eta y invention relates further to certain improvements in construction whereby the un, or other (piece of ordnance to be traine is controlle by a prime mover such as an electric motor, the action of t e rime mover being qualified by a number 0 independent factors enteringinto the composite motions of the ship carrying the piece.

. My invention relates still further to certain details of construction relating generally to the control of the power of the electric current as used for actuating the training the piece of ordnance to be handled My invention is not limited to any exact form of mechanism, but for convenience and as representative of the eneral idea underlyi the invention I re or to show it as appli to an ordinary lih power gun which is o eratedby a varia le, high speed, rcversible electric motor.,

Reference is to be had to the accom anying drawings forming a part of this s eci ication, in whic similar characters of re erencc ind icate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of and gearing for handling the same so as to keep it properly sighted, this viewfurther showing, in the lower lefthand corner, contacts operated by solenoids and used for reversing the direction of the rotation of the armature shaft of the motor, this view still further showing a motor used for trollin those solenoids, and also showing severe rhcostats operated in various ways for increasing and decreasing the current throu h the motor; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side e evation of a portion of the gun and shows a sectional view of the contact mechanism controllable by the weight of the endulum at the left of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a ragmentary view showing in plan a portion of the gun and its sighting mechanism, and in section a portion of the contact mechanism and its accompanying, parts; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the gun and of the turret in which it is mounted, this view further showing how the occasional partial rotation of the turret operates a rheostat to control the motor current accordingly; Fig. 5 is a perspective of the pendulum shown at the right of Fig. 1 and used f or operating a rheostat, this pendulum being practically identical in construction with the one shown at the left of Fig. l

and used in connection with 'a contact mechanism.

The general purpose I seek to accomplish is to so move the gun relatively to the vessel as to compensate for undesirable and unavoidable motions of the ship, such as would ordinarily tend to render the aim of the gun more diflicult.

In practice, under ordinary conditions, my invention accomplishes the objects stated, keeping the gun perfectly trained upon the tar et so that a large proportion of shots are like to hit. Under extreme conditions it may be impracticable to keep the aim perfect, and in this event the gunner may iind it necessary to assist the mechanism by moving .the gun in the usual manner or in some other )reierrcd way. In such event the utility oi my invent ion lies in the fact that in training the gun, loss movement is required to bring it into desired position than would be the case in the absence of my im )roved mechanism.

1 carriage is shown at 6 and is provided with bearings 7 engaged by trunnions 8 which are mounted upon a sleeve 9 carrying a gun 10. This arrangement, is for the purpose of allowin" the recoil of the gun to take place without r isturhin the position of the carriage. A sector 11 raving the form of a mutilated worm gear is engaged by a worm 12 mounted rigidly upon a revolubie shaft 13'.

part of the This shaft is provided with a bevel gear 14 which meshes with another bevel car 15 car ried b a revoluble shaft 16. T is shaft is provi ed with a cou lin 17. At 18 is a variable speed reversi le e ectric motor having a field 19, provided with a winding 20 and also having a high speed revoluble armature 21 mounted u on a shaft '22. This armature is provide with a commutator 23. The

27 are connected with these mains.

Two solenoids are shown at 28, 29, and are provided with movable cores 28, 29'. The solenoid 28 is provided with stationary contact points 30, 31, 32, 33, the solenoid 29 being similarly provided with stationary contacts 34, 35, 36, 37. From the contact point 33 a wire 38 leads to the motor armature 21, and from the contact member 37 a wire 39 leads to a variable resistance 40, the latter being connected by a wire .41 with the armature 21. v

The variable resistance 40 is controllable at will b a slide 40 which is set and left alone. Xariable rfisistance is for the ose o a a tin t e ap aratus, as a h o le, for df diflerent si es, more resistance being necessary in instances where the gun is very light, and vice versa. variable resistance is also necessary in order to give the apparatus for'any iven vessel' a proper adjustment ascertainab e by trial, as to current needed. The variable resistance is useful further in choking down extra our rents due to sudden stoppage and reversal of the motor armature.

A contact plate 42 is mounted upon the movable core 28 and is adapted to engage and disengage the stationary contact members 30, 31, 32, 33. Another contact plate ('3' is similarly mounted upon the core 29 and adapted to engage the contact members 34,35, 36,, 37,. A wire 44 connects the stationary contact member 32 with the wire 27; A wire 45 connects together the stationary contact members 30, 29. A wire 46 connects together the contact members 31,-33, and the contact members 35, 37 are con 'nected together by awire 47.

A endulum 48" mounted upon a rod 49, the tter bein suspended from a disk 50' mounted upon arings 51. These bearin support the disk 50 upon acircle 52 whic is similarly supported upon "a circle 53 by aid of. bearings 53. By rod 55 is connected with the dis 50. A turnbuckle 56 ages this rod and also en- 'ga es another 1- 57. The rod 57 is provi ed with a ball head 58 which is engaged in a bracket 59. A slide is shown at 60, and extending directly through this slide is a post 61 relatively to which the slide is moved. An adjusting screw is shown at 62 and asses directly through the bracket 59. 65 This adjusting screw is provided with a hanship mains are shown at 24, 25, and wires 26,1

The

aid of a ball 'oint 54 adlc 63whereby it may be turned by hand and whenever it is rotated, the bracket 59 moves up or down, as the case may be. Mounted upon the slide 60 are boxes 64, 65 containing s iral springs 66, 67, and extending throug 1 t e boxes are contact screws 68, 69 provided with milled nuts 70, 71 for securing them rigidly in position. The springs 66, 67 are connected with the contact screws 68, 69 by the aid of heads 68, 69, mounted upon these screws in such a manner that one or the other of the s rings iscompressed by a contact arm 74, isposed intermediate the contact screws (see Figs. 1 and 2). This not only protects the contact screws and the contact arm from injury, but compensates for movements of the gun incidental to its reloading. That is to say, when the gun is moving and not following the relative movements of the ship, any accidental pressure exerted by the contact arm 74 against either ofthe contact screws.68 or 69 can do no harm. It is alwa s necessa that the cur- 7 rent be cut oil w e the gun fitting reloaded, in mounts where a gun is brought to loading position. A switch 89! is provided in the solenoid circuit for this purpose; I

Binding posts are shown at 72, 73 and are mountedupon the boxes 64, '65 which are of metal and insulated fromeach other; A 05 sighting telescope is shown at-75, and-a bar 76 is connected with'this instrument and is provided with a rack 77 which passes into aconnecting clamp 78. The latter is provided. with a manuall -0 rated pinion, 79, which engages the me 7 and is adapted toraise or lower the telesco '75. The clamping bracket 78 is moun upon a rod 80*w c is connected at 82 with one of the trunnions 8 (see Fig. 3), the trunnion being rovided with 'a pm' 82'for this purpose. he shaft 76 is connected with a shaft 83 on which the contact arm 74 and the telescope 75 are mounted. When the sight'is adjusted for changes in range, the contact arm is adjusted at the same time, it connected with the sight. It is essential t the contact arm 74 move through thesame distance at the point where it touches the contact ins 68, 69 as the boxes move on the slide. 3 p is to say, for any degree roll of the ship the movement oi theboxes on the slide must be such that if the contact arm 7 4 moved the same distance in the same direction the gun would be trained in such a manner'that it would exactly compensate for that degree of roll.

The sih' telesco is o ratedb movemenis of egun. hent emuzzlexii the latter is raised the front end of the telescope is raised, and when the inuz'zle of the gun is lowered thejront end of the telescope is-lowered. The'purp'cse of the wheel 79 is to adjust the aggregate length of the rods 76, 86 and thereby ring hne of sightpf 'thqqso f telescope into a predetermined position rclastat is controlled directly by movements of tively to the longitudinal axis of the gun, so the turret. that when the telescope is on the target the The hand lever 102 is directly under the gun is trained upon it. control of the gunner who sights the un.

A battery is shown at 84 and from it a wire The rheostat 107 is contr olle by an 0 icer 70 86 leads to a wire 86 which connects together who may have nothing directly to do with the solenoids 28, 29. The solenoid 29 is eouthe sighting of the gun, and is marked in denected by a wire 87 with the binding post 73, grees indicated by the clinometer. Neither and the binding post 72 is connected by a does he move the slide 107 constantly. He

wire 88 with the solenoid 28. Connected sets this slide fronrtime to time macoord- 76 with the contact arm 74 is a wire 80 which ance ,with observations made from the clileads to the battery 84. By thus using a nonietcr as to the number of degrees theship battery cui'rent instead of the high potenmay be rolling. The rheostat 107 is detial current otherwise obtainable upon shipsigned toset thesystem. For instance, the

board, excessive sparking is prevented. ship rolls 15 degrees; now it becomes the so A pendulum 90 (sec lower right-hand corduty of the opcrator of rheostat 107 to set ner of Fig. 1) is mounted upon a rod 91, the his rheostat 15 degrees. If, however, the latter being supported by a disk 92 mounted ship keeps rolling l5 degrees cont nually he upon circles 93, substantially as above (10- does not change 11s rheostat; but f theshi scribed with reference to the pendulum 48 at varies in the number of degrees which it rol s the left of Fig. l. at any time, the operator changes the rheo- A rod 94 connects the disk 92 with a rheostat accordingly. When this rheostat is set for 15 degrees and the ship rolls 15 degrees This rheostat is provided with a number of l the system is in perfect unison. The differ- 25 contact points 97," successively connected ence between what this rheostat 107' is set with acontinuous w nding 98. The center of i at and the number of degrees the ship rolls the latter is connected by a wire 99 with the must be taken up by the rheostat 101' opermain 25. From thelsl (lo-96 a wire 100 leads ated by the man who fires the gun. to a slide 101 formin 5 art of a rheostat 101 It is plain that aside from the longitudinal 30 This slide is operatec y a handle 102 and a motion of the gun caused by the turning of pitinan 103. The rheostat is provided with the turret and its contents, a gun tends ordi. contacts 104,.thelatter being connected with 5 narily to have motions from a number of a winding 105-. This rliaostat is connected difl'ercnt causes. F or instance, therocking byawire 106 with aslide 107 of another rheoof the vessel from side to side mi ht cause 35 stat 107", thclatter being provided with coni the muzzle of the gun to he raises and detacts 108 and with awiiiding 109, and being pressed, and as this rocking is variable in defurthcr provided with it graduated scale 107*, i gree', the dipping of the gun tends likewise to which has the same ranglin degrees as the vary in degree. Again the vessel may rock scale of the clinoineter. "n I in a plane representing its eneral length, i

A clinometer is shown at 1:10 and is proand this motion may be varia is. Then. the vided with an arcuate scale 1111. The puri motion in the eneral direction of the pose of this clinometer to enable an ob- 2 len th of the vesse is alwa s slower than the server to ascertain the degree of the rocking I roe-hing motion abeam of I. is vessel. Again, of the vessel. The clinometr is entirely l the partial turning of thcjti'irret may vary separate from the electrical. apparatus the degree .of inclination of the gun, other 110 From the rheostat 107 a wire 112 eads to a things being equal. However, notwithslide 113 of arlieostat 113. This rheostat l standing the fact that many forces and their is provided with contacts 114 and with a compositions may play upon the gun for the winding 115, and from the former a wire 116 l purpose of destroyin the gunners aim, it is 5 leads to the field winding 20 of the motor. i also clear that aside from the motionof turn- A wire 117 connects this field winding with i ing the turret (which is controllable at will) the main 24. the gun can he he it upon the target, or aphe gun is mounted in a turret -l18 proproximately so, ii the aiparatus is so arvided with an annular rack 119, and disranged and handledthat the motor armature 55 posed internally of this rock is adrivi g pinturns at appropriate but variable rates of 120 ion 120 which meshes with it, this pini n bespeed, and provided further that the direcing mounted u on a'shaft' 121 whereby it tion of rotation shall be such as to compenmay be rotated y hand or power. A driven sate for the vertical d ircction of movement of gear I22-mcshes with the annular rack 119 the gun.

no and is turned by motions of the turret. In my a paratu the various disturbing This gear is mounted upon a shaft 123. A factors tent ing *8 row the aim of the gun pm 124 s mounted upon the gear 122 anda oil the targetlar separately compensated rod 125 is gournaled upon a )ivot 126 and is for by causing then; to reverse the direction provided with a slot 127. his rod carries of rotation of the motor when such reversal is (15 the slide 113.01 the rheostat so that this rheoi necessary, and to vary the speed of the motor 130 when such variation is necessary, in order to fully neutralize the undesirable motions of the vessel.

As may be seen from Fi 1, the direction of the current through t e field winding 20 never changes, but the number of amperes in the current is changed fromtime to time by the action of the various rheostats. The current through the armature however, is reversed in direction accordingly as the contact member 74 (upper left-hand portion of Fig. 1) may engage the contact screw 68 or the contact screw 69, the pendulum 48 controlling this contact mechanism.

In reversingthe direction of the flow of the current through the armature 21 without reversing the direction of the How of the current through the field winding 20, the direction of rotation of the armature is reversed.

' in the general d' eotion of the Hence, the direction in which the motor armature rotates is due directly, at all times, to the condition of the pendulum 48, necessarily due to the position of the vessel relatively to the horizon. Such being the case, if the vessel rocks in a direction coincidin substantially with a plane passing .vertic y through the s ereof, the motorarm ture turns first m one A direction and then in the op osite direction,

these directions being contro ed by the rocking of the vessel. .If the vessel could rock in o y one'plane and the could occupy only one.plane,'very little ot er mechanism would be necess There are many factors, however, whic 'may qualify the simple compensatingefiect which is described.

The purpose of the rheostats 95, 101, 107 and 1 13,'is so control the current strength that the variable speed of themotor armature will just com ate the varying speed of the vessel'relativel to the ideal constant position desired for t e gun. The rheostat 95,. being controlled by the pendulum 90 varies the current with regard to the speed of the rocking of the vessel. This 1' at aim ly verifies the.current as a sine curve,-

duce adequate compensation .of movement,

' thereby retaining the gun continuously upon the target;

The rhostat 107 is operated upon a somewhat similar principle. Some olficer watches the clincmeter 110. By noting the the target, inner-sl tually neutralize the motion of the ship.

The ofiicer endeavors to so control the rheostat 107 that the current handled by it will at all times represent the mean quantity of .current necessary to give the motor proper energy.

The partial turning of the turret may vary,

within proper limits, the angle of inchnation swept over by the gun in its vertical movement, due to the rocking of the vessel and to similar disturbing influences. For instance if the vessel is heaving violently abeam, an

- the turret be turned in such position that the gun points strai ht ahead, the rocking motion of the vesse would have comparatively whereas, other t gsremaimng the same, if the gun be turned to a right an le so as to point away, say to the starboar the angle of inclination covered by the vertical sweep of the gun may be consi rable.

Now I have arranged the rheostat 1 13 andits connections in such a manner that the turret by its rotation and by its having complete control over the rheostat' 1 13, increases the current when the gun is pointed straight out to starboard, as compare with the condition when the gun is pointed, say dead ahead. Even if the rheostats 95, 107, 113 each fail to make an ad uate increase or decrease in current, it is st of somebenefit to the sightgunner, and insome instances he can make the aim perfect by manipulating the hand lever 102. if, even with the aid of this lever, he is still unable to et a perfect lineupon the target, he can at east ring the gun sufliciently near a proper training to enable him to catch the target at someinterval while the sight of the gun is. in transit across it, and this feat is rendered far less diflicult as the zone ofthe gun is narrow, as above describe an tifielperiod of oscillation-is the same as for t e roll of the shi .In practice; the firing gunner, w on unable to train the-gun. quite steadily upon the tar- Eit, sees the target apparently moving out of .little influence ulpielnthe sighting ,of the gun;

e and back into line, then out of line ain in the opposite direction and backinto e, and b watching his opportunity the gunner the gun at t e proper instant to at e the target. I

The operation of my device is as follows: Su pose the parts are in normal position, as in 'cated in Fig. 1, and that the gun is trained upon a ta et. Suppose, further, that the vessel rocks or a moment in a clockwise direction, accordin to Fig. 1. The contact screw 69 is thus rought into e agement with the contact arm 74 and the 0 owing circuit is complete: battery 84, wire 85,

solenoid 29, wire 87, binding, post 73, contact screw 61), contact arm 74,

33, wire 38, armature 21, Wire 41., resistance 5 40, wire 39, contact point 37, wire 47, contact point 35, plate 43 (now raised) contact point 34, wire 26, to main 24.

gizes the armature 21 oi the motor and causes it to turn in the direction necessary to turn the gun It) in a contra-clockwise direction ac cording to Fig. 1.

The winding 20 of the motor field 19 is at times energized by a circuit as follows: main 25, wire 99, rheostat 95, wire 100, rheostat 1.01, wire 106, rheostat 107, wire 112, rheostat 113, wire 116, motor winding 20, and wire 11? to main 24. The current just traced has a constant direction, but is variable in amperage by the action of the various rhcostats, as above described. The motion from the motor to the gun is transmitted from the armature shat t through the cou plinp' 17, shalt 1.6, bevel gears 15, 14 shaft 13 min worm 12, to sector 11, and thence direcily to the gun. Suppose, now, that the ship finishes its roll in a clockwise direction, :ird reversing its motion turns for the moment, in a contraclockwise direction. Unucr the action of the pendulum 48 the contact screw 68 is caused to engage the contact arm 74 so that the following circuit is cornpleted: battery 84, wire 85, wire 86, solenoid 28, wire 83, binding post 72, box 84, contact screw 63, contact arm 74, wire 89, back to battery 81. This raises the solenoid core 28 so that the late 42 disengages contact points 32, 33 nod engages contact points 30, 31. The toll: Hiring circuit is thus completed: main 25, wirc 2 7, cont act 36, contact plate 43, contact point 37, wire 39, resistance 40, wire 41, collector 22: armature 21, wire 38, contact point 33, wire 4o, contact point 31, plate 42 (now raised) col'itact point 34), wire 45, contact point 34, wire 26, to main 24. This cnergizes the armature 21, but the current llows through it in a direction opposite to that in which it is above traced in the other circuit through it. Hence, the armature 21 now operates the gearing so that the gun 10 is, relalively to the vessel, turned in a contraclockwise direction, as indicated by dotted lines in Pi 1.

rom the above description it will be seen that 1 have through the armature a reversible current of consi ant strength, and through the field a current of constant direction but variable strength, and that the strength of the field current is controlled by a number of back to battery 84. This energizes This one ri factors more or less independent yet all relating, in some way, to the l'iecessityfor inoring the gun in a particular direction in or to compensate for an undesirable motion of the vessel. M y purpose is to deliver to the l gun the exact number of watt hours necesl sary to neutralize the disturbing effect of the l undesirable motion of the ship.

l It should be borne in mind that ideal eonditions are not obtainable in the handling of a heavy gun. The inertia and momentum of the gun and of the ship, also of various rapidly moving parts, are factors for which it is dnlicult to make allowance without unl duly complicating the mechanism. Again, i it is impossble to anticipate, in building a structure of the kind herein shown, conditions which are exactly applicable to more than one particular case. Nevertheless, all factors of uncertainty in the training of the gun are ractically eliminated by the fact l that, within certain close limits, the firing i gunner ma himself ultimately control the gun when t 118 is necessary.

I have known of such conditions arising in actual warfare that a gunner havin control of a heavy gun would have been g ad if he had. some automatic agenc t ca able of moving the gun, say one-half, one-t ird or three quarters of the distance it would be moved in order to compensate for a given roll of the ship. The savlng of time in moving the gun further than it would be moved, or in restorin it after being moved too far, is a considerable factor and might be material in a battle where the contest is close.

While I prefer herein to show pendulums manipulate certain parts, I do not limit myself thereby, as any inertia-held member, known as an equivalent for the pendulum, may be em loyed as a substitute therefor. Neither do limit myself to the use of solenoids in the relations indicated in the lower left-hand corner of Fig. 4, as any other elecconnection with that mechanism.

It is possible for this system to get out of tune, but every time the ship changes the direction of motion, the gun changes its direction. Consequently every movement of the gun is in the right direction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of an ordnance haember to be trained, a prime mover for shifting the position of said ordnance member, a. source of energy for said prime mover, an inertia-held member for varying the] supply of energy from said source to sai rime mover, and means controllable at w lfor still further varying said supply of. energy.

2. The combination of an ordnance mempart of the contact trically-operated device may be employed in for enabling the motions of the vessel to tions of a vessel for reversin her to be trained, a rime mover for shifting the osition of said ordnance member, an inertia-held member, means controllable by said inertia-held member for reversing said prime mover so as to shift said ordnance member in different directions, a second inertia-held member, and means controllable thereby for varying the supply of energy to said rime mover.

3. he combination of an ordnance memher, a rime mover for shifting the position thereoi? said rime mover being reversible, means controllable by the undesirable mosaid prime mover, and mechanism contro able by motions of said vessel for varying the energy supplied to said prime mover.

4. The combinatioh of an ordnance member, a rime mover for shifting the position thereo said rime mover being reversible, means contro able automatically by the nu? desirable motions of a ship for reversing said rime mover, mechanism controllable at will or varying the quantity of energy supplied to said prime mover, and mechanism acting conjointly with said last-mentioned means and controllable by motions of a vessel for still further varying said supply of energy.

5. The combination of an ordnance mem- 1 her, a rime mover for shifting the position thereo said prime mover being reversible, means for reversing said prime mover so as to move said ordnance member in different directions and mechanism controllable automatically by motions of a vessel for varying gradually the quantity of energy supplied to said prime mover.

6. The combination of an ordnance memher to be trained, an electric motor for shifting the position of said ordnance member, a source of electricity for said electric motor, an inertia-held member, mechanism controllable by said inertia-held member for to said motor, a clinometer, and a rheostat dispmed adjacent to said clinometer and op- JAMES BOLAND RYAN.

Witnesses WM. TYNAN, F W. ScHULTzn. 

